The After
by Cursiveismything
Summary: Set after the movie. Winry has always had Ed and Al, but now that they're gone for good, what does she have? Rated T for some swearing.


Hey you guys! It's me again, posting another story just so you all know I'm not dead yet! This one's written like an episode, so the writing itself isn't that great. It's supposed to let you imagine most of it. The o's are scene changes, and the capital o's are start and finish of chapter. And I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, any of the characters, only the plotline…and some of the references to the episodes? Don't own those either.

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There was a red flash of light as the transmutation circle faded. Roy dusted his hands off as he got up.

"Good luck, Fullmetal." He said as he turned around to leave, then froze. Winry was standing there, rigid with shock, hands over her mouth. "Let's go." Roy said quietly.

"How could you?!" Winry shouted. "They were on the other side! Do you even…even care?" While she was saying this, she was hitting Roy with her fists, but trailed off and collapsed onto the hard stone floor, sobbing. "They never tell me anything…and they're gone…"

Roy looked at her sympathetically, and extended a hand. Winry looked at his hand for a moment, then got up on her own, and turned to run, shouting, "And now…and now I won't ever see him again!"

Roy started after her, but stopped as he saw Riza walking in the door. Before Winry could run out the door and up the steps, Riza grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her into a tight hug. "Winry…" Winry just sobbed hard into her shirt. "Winry, you have to listen to me." Riza held her away slightly, and Winry looked up at her. "I have someone important to me too. When I thought I had lost him…I didn't know what I was going to do, how I would survive." She smiled at Roy. "But Edward wouldn't want you to cry. Neither would Alphonse."

Winry wiped her eyes, and, still shaking, smiled, her mouth trembling slightly. "You're right. I can think of what he'd say now. He'd grin, maybe lean back on his hands, and say 'Come on, Winry. The best automail mechanic in the world is crying?'"

Roy put his hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you home."

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Riza looked out the window of the car at the setting sun. "Colonel, are they really gone forever?"

Roy sighed. "Fullmetal made the choice himself. And there's no way Alphonse would spend the rest of his life without his brother. You know that." Riza nodded. "Those two are lucky to have someone who cares so much." "Hmm…" Roy stared off into the distance with his good eye.

"I can never tell what you're thinking anymore, Colonel."

He turned to look at her. "I'm not a Colonel anymore, remember?"

The car pulled to a stop outside Roy's apartment. He got out and started walking towards the front door. "

Good night, Colonel!" Riza shouted. Roy raised his hand in a silent salute, waving without turning around. Riza smiled as she rolled up her window, then stopped and frowned as she realized something. By distracting her with ranks, he had dodged her question about what he was thinking. "That was a dirty trick…Mustang." She smiled to herself.

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"Winry!" Pinako hit the door with her fist. "Go do something productive instead of moping around like a dog that's lost a bone."

Den whined. Winry sighed and got up off of the bed. What could she do to stop her crazy grandmother from killing her? "Maybe I should visit Gracia and Elysia and everyone at Central…" She said.

Five minutes later, she was at the train station. "One ticket to central, please." She heard the cash register click.

"Here you go, miss." She took the tickets, thanked the salesman, and got on the train, choosing the window seat.

"Ed, you should really thank him. He was just trying to help." Ed sighed and leaned back in his seat, staring out the window. "Yeah, yeah, I will."

Winry sighed, remembering the last time she was on a train with Ed and Al, right after Hughes's death.

"Last stop, Central." said a female conductor. Winry got up off of her seat and walked down the steps.

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"Mommy, Mommy, Winry's here!" Elysia pointed and grinned happily.

Gracia looked up from her knitting and smiled. "You'd better go say hello."

Elysia jumped off of her little cushioned stool and ran out the door, leaving it wide open behind her. Gracia sighed, set the half finished sweater down, and got up to close the door.

"Winry, Winry!" Elysia shouted happily, grabbing Winry's hand and dragging her inside. "Guess what? We got a new kitty! We found him on the roof, with his mommy. She went to sleep for a little while, Mommy said." Elysia looked sad, but then brightened up again. "But now we have him!"

As if on cue, a small yellow tabby rounded the corner, meowing curiously. It had a lock of hair sticking straight up on its head.

"We call him Ed, 'cause of his silly hair and how little he is!" Elysia proclaimed. Winry smiled a little at this, imagining Ed's reaction. "Well, it _does_ look a bit like him."

Elysia scooped the tiny kitten up in her arms, holding him haphazardly.

"Dear, don't forget to hold up his legs!" Gracia called from the couch.

Elysia hurriedly adjusted her hold on the kitten. "I know, I know."

Gracia sighed as she got up from the couch. "Winry, would you like to stay for lunch?" She asked as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Sure!" Winry replied happily. Lunch at the Hughes' house was always interesting.

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Winry walked out of the Hughes' house, her stomach and hands much fuller than they had been before. Gracia had given her a box of food for dinner, just in case. Winry was on her way to Central now, and there was no telling what kind of food they might have there. She sighed and flagged down a taxi (1), because it was a long way to Central and walking when it was starting to get dark wasn't such a good idea.

"Where to, miss?" The cab driver asked.

"Uhm…Central, please." She replied, getting in the cab.

"Central, eh? You wouldn't happen to be mixed up with those military types." The cabby eyed her suspiciously.

"No, sir, just visiting a friend." Winry said quickly.

"Good. I don't like the idea of a young lady such as yourself involved with them. They're doing some dangerous business there. Didja hear about the last Fuhrer? They set his house on fire. Now, if you ask me, there should be no good reason for someone to go about setting houses on fire, so whoever did it had to have been pretty damn mad, you know?" The cabby said as he drove. "And those alchemists. Well, they may be useful, but some of the things they do! Transmogrification, and that whole exchange principle. The only equal exchange I believe in is the exchange of money for goods and services." He smiled, and continued on with his rant.

Winry listened attentively. It was rare that someone was so against the idea of alchemy, because of how common it was in the world, but she wasn't too happy with the whole thing herself, at the moment. Alchemy had its uses, but nothing came without a price. Ed and Al were living proof. Or they were. She had no way of knowing if they were still alive after crossing over the gate the second time.

The cab driver slowed as they reached the steps leading to Central Headquarters. "You take care now, Miss." He said, smiling warmly.

Winry couldn't help but smile back as she stepped out of the car. "I will." She fished around in her pocket for her money, and paid the driver. As he drove off, she looked up at the huge building, and took a deep breath before heading up the stairs.

**(1)** I don't really know if there's any cab drivers in their world…but for the purposes of this story, there are.

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Haha, so how'd you like it? I thought it was pretty good. There's another chapter coming up of course, but I can't decide if I want to make it all plot-filled, with important events, or just kind of plot-y…so, read and review, hopefully a nice review, and eagerly await the next chapter!


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